1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to film/non-woven composites and specifically, to a point bonded highly elastic film/non-woven composite that is made breathable after manufacture by stretching the composite to rupture inelastic membranes formed on the composite by weld points used to point bond the composite.
2. Related Art
There is a need to improve the fit and comfort of diaper products and the like in the consumer disposable market. Laminates that deliver high extensibility coupled with high elastic recovery, breathability, and tear resistance are being sought as the means to satisfy this need.
In the past, techniques used to achieve high stretch in non-woven laminates would often damage the non-woven fibers or bonds, thereby resulting in reduced laminate strength, especially tensile strength. In addition, the laminates produced by prior techniques often lack sufficient elastic recovery to function optimally in desired applications.
Breathability for these laminates have typically been generated by perforating the film before laminating the film to the non-woven. The lamination of the film to the non-woven are often performed by the use of adhesives. These adhesives have a tendency to block the holes or apertures in the laminates, thus potentially reducing desired breathability.
Breathability was also generated by perforating the film through other perforation processes, such as perforating the film after laminating the film to the non-woven. But these perforation processes result in various points of weakness on the overall laminate. The points of weakness often become tear initiation points.
In the prior art, often many cumbersome and expensive steps must be followed to create a laminate having the desired properties.
Therefore it is necessary to develop a laminate and a method for making the same that has high elasticity combined with high elastic recovery for use in disposable article market. In addition, it is desirable to develop a laminate and a method for making the same that eliminates the tear initiation points that formed on prior art laminates. There is a further need to make a laminate having a relatively high tear resistance at a predetermined stretch elongation of the laminate. Finally, there is a need to reduce the number of steps needed to create the laminate while maintaining the above-stated properties.
The present invention provides an improved film/non-woven composite that only stretches in the cross-machine direction and exhibits fluid and air permeable properties. The film/non-woven composite in one embodiment of the present invention comprises two consolidated layers laminated onto a core layer. The consolidated layers are composed of unidirectional and non-unidirectional fibers. The unidirectional and non-unidirectional fibers provide for stretchable and non-stretchable regions on the composite.
The layers of the composite are welded together at discrete points. In one embodiment, an ultrasonic horn is used to weld the composite. After welding, the following distinct regions are formed on the composite: non-welded regions, bond regions, and membrane regions. The non-welded regions are the areas of the composite surrounding the weld points. The weld points, where an actual bond forms, are amalgamated masses of polymer that are dislodged by force and thermal/fusion energy during the welding step. The membrane regions are very thin impervious membranes of polymer material that remain after the thermal/fusion energy application.
After the composite has been formed, some areas of the composite exhibit high elasticity. The composite may be stretched by an end use to tear the membranes in the membrane region and impart breathability to the film. The ratio of tensile to break in the machine direction versus the tensile to break in the cross direction of the fibers in the consolidated layers is in the range of about 3:1 to about 1.8:1.